Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury jailed for punching man during drunken street row
His conviction is likely to pave the way for a by-election in a new blow for Sir Keir Starmer
Suspended Labour MP Mike Amesbury has been jailed for 10 weeks for punching a man following a row in the street, and taunting “you won’t threaten your MP again will you?”.
The Runcorn and Helsby MP, who has been sitting as an independent since he was suspended following his arrest in October last year, had pleaded guilty earlier this year to assaulting 45-year-old Paul Fellows.
His conviction is a fresh headache for Sir Keir Starmer who is currently battling poor approval ratings, with a by-election now likely in the constituency.
The incident occurred in Main Street in Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of October 26, after Amesbury had been drinking.
Upon arriving at a taxi rank, he was approached by Mr Fellows who began to remonstrate about a bridge closure in the town.
Footage showed Amesbury punch Mr Fellows to the head, knocking him to the ground, then follow him onto the road and start to punch him again, at least five times.
Members of the public restrained Amesbury and one was heard to say: “You’ll never be MP after tonight, mate.”
The court heard Mr Fellows had an injury to his head and reported a headache, as well as a superficial graze to his elbow.
When arrested, Amesbury said he had acted in self-defence and suggested he felt “threatened” and “intimidated”, the court heard.
Speaking outside court after entering his guilty plea, Amesbury said: “I’m sincerely sorry to Mr Fellows and his family.”
The politician was warned during his last court appearance that all sentencing options would be considered, ranging from a community order to a prison sentence.
Deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram said a pre-sentence report found the offence was committed as a result of “anger” and “loss of emotional control”.
The report recorded that Amesbury was remorseful and assessed him as being at a low likelihood of reoffending, but said there was a medium risk of causing serious harm to the public if he did.
Mr Ikram said: “I have to say I have seen a single punch to the head cause fatal injury in previous cases I have dealt with, but of course I note the limited injuries in this case.”
He said the attack was unprovoked, adding: “As a member of parliament you could reasonably expect robust challenge from constituents and members of the public.”
Mr Ikram said Amesbury continued the attack and it “may well not have come to an end” had bystanders not intervened.
Sentencing him at Chester Magistrates’ Court, Mr Ikram said: “In this case an immediate custodial sentence is, in my judgment, necessary as a punishment and a deterrent.”
Richard Derby, representing Amesbury, asked the judge: “Is that an immediate sentence?”
The judge nodded, and replied: “Yes.”
Amesbury was joined in the dock by two security guards who took him down to the cells. From there he will be taken to HMP Altcourse in Liverpool. Unlike many defendants, he did not appear to have brought a bag of belongings with him.
Mr Derby then requested the judge come back into court as he wished to make an application for bail for Amesbury, pending an appeal against his sentence.
Judge Ikram returned to court, sat down, paused briefly and said: “Application refused.”
Residents of Amesbury’s constituency “deserved better”, the Labour Party said.
A Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour Party took swift action following Mike Amesbury’s completely unacceptable actions and he is no longer a Labour MP or a member of the Labour Party. It is right that Mr Amesbury pleaded guilty and has now been sentenced.
“Local residents in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency deserve better and we look forward to them getting the representation they deserve in the future with a new Labour MP.”
Alison Storey, senior specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime division, said: “This was a persistent assault by Mike Amesbury which continued while the victim was on the floor, offering no aggression.
“The victim was alone and not part of a group, and CCTV footage showed that he was not being threatening or aggressive towards Mike Amesbury.
“After the initial punch which knocked the victim to the ground, Mike Amesbury struck the victim at least a further five times while he was on the floor.
“The CPS will always seek to prosecute violent offences in accordance with our legal test regardless of who the perpetrator is.”
Reform UK chair, Zia Yusuf, said: “Today, Mike Amesbury has been sentenced to 10 weeks in prison. The great people of Runcorn deserve far better than waiting six weeks for a recall petition to take place.
“We call on Mike Amesbury to do the honourable thing and resign immediately so a by-election can be held.”
Should a by-election take place in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency, Reform and the Conservatives would be hoping to overturn Labour’s majority of 14,696.